


3 Worlds where Virtue Let in Love, and One Time Where Patience Won Out

by queenmab24601



Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: 3 + 1, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Firefly Verse, Cross-Post, Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-10 01:24:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1153117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenmab24601/pseuds/queenmab24601
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate Universe Freewrite Practice. Cross-Posted from Storywrite. Edited from a long time ago.<br/>3 Artemis/Orion AUs - Firefly, Spy, and Coffee Shop. And One Pseudo-Modern semi-AU.<br/>"You're not growing old, you know." She informed him.</p><p>"That a fact, my lady?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	3 Worlds where Virtue Let in Love, and One Time Where Patience Won Out

1) "Firefly" Inspired  
"Take the bridge" Artemis told Atalanta. The pilot rolled her eyes before heading back to take the wheel. "Opis!" Artemis called to her lieutenant,busy shining a gun. "We need to land and get passengers." 

Opis smirked."Maybe if we hadn't kicked Callisto out for being a companion -” 

Artemis's eyes narrowed. "There's a reason I named this ship 'Huntress'. We follow the rules of nature. Not the laws of man. Which means I'm not letting some prostitute legitimize us just because the government says so." She turned to head down to the cargo hold. 

"Yet Hippolytus is on board. And you used the exact same reasoning once for why we couldn't have men on the ship. Said it made us look like we needed protection or something."

"...he's different." 

Opis knew better than to point how being gay didn't exactly make Hippolytus a woman. But Artemis's logic was still seriously flawed."We need a mechanic - what if a man's the best one for the job?" 

Artemis set her mouth in a firm line.

"He Won't be."  
___________________________________________________________________

Unfortunately "Orion" was the best for the job. At least on 3 planets. And they didn't have time to stop off on any more border planets without taking on a decent job.  
Not with far too many people watching their tail.  
And he just had to be handsome too. Now she had to watch the girls.  
___________________________________________________________________

Reavers. Oh, dear god. And everything was in chaos - and how was she going to protect her crew (No longer "her girls", when did that happen?)  
Atalanta flew them through - faster than anything she'd ever done before - a tactical maneuver that involved her hiding behind three moons (It would get named after her one day).  
Orion got injured. Why was she the only one who cared? It was like it happened in slow motion - a stray harpoon jettisoning through the window when they landed. It scraped his side, but they didn't have time to stop long.  
“If you die on me - " she warned, eyes narrowing fiercely on the man in the medical bed, " I'll give you the worst eulogy ever."

"Not going to happen." He whispered, and squeezed her hand. It was only when a drop of water fell on his cheek that she realized she was crying.

2) I Spy  
Working for Zeus, of O.L.Y.M.P.U.S. was great fun, if you got past the every day unloading of misogyny from the higher ups.  
Which might be why she sometimes did her own work.

There was something soothing in vigilantism. The feel of a repellar gun tight in her hand (only $1000 on the black market, and boy was she lucky for it) and the fact that she wore white and those freaking rapists were scared for it. She thought of leaving an A in fire behind when she bashed their faces in and left them for the "rightful authorities". But she was better than that. Good enough to wear white, tie them up, and not get caught. Be a legend that wasn't a legend.

Which was why the man known only as "The Hunter", getting more press and imitating her style, was becoming a threat. And why her brother had been urged to take him down.

"You're the best marksman, Apollo." Zeus had said, and she'd seethed.

It was too bad. She was even beginning to like the guy. He paid a weird, sweet, kind of tribute with every hit. Writing "FOR HER" in red spray paint over each group of tied up thugs.

Too bad he didn't understand "not interested". As in, 'chaste due to chosen profession, thanks'.

"You're late." He said when she finally found him.

"I'm never late." Her boots clanked hard when she jumped off the roof top to land behind him in the alley. "You're in trouble."

"Just 'cuz I'm not in your special CIA group?" His eyebrow quirked. "Please."

"No. You'd get in though."  
He ducked his head, with the blush reserved only for her as decoration.  
"You're just sloppy."

"How else was I supposed to get your attention?"  
Artemis rolled her eyes. Of course she had to save him now.

3) The Coffee Shop  
Artemis would rather work at Dick's sporting goods. She considered writing that on her name tag, but apparently Starbucks didn't think its baristas should speak their minds along with their names.

She got the job from her brother (of course) because...well...  
"OHMIGODIGOTTHENIGHTSHIFT, WHATARETHEYCRAZY? ITOOK10CUPSOFCOFFEEBUTISTILLFEELREALLY -" and then Apollo cut off. Largely because he went unconscious due a little something called "adrenal exhaustion". And so she ended up working the night shift to cover for him.

That didn't mean she actually had to write her real name on her tag, though. "KILLYOUNOW" worked just as well. And that typically meant any potential customers - typically drunk off their rocker kids once the shift was toward ending - instead turned their heads toward Selene and asked very quietly for their Mocha Lattes.

This guy, though? He seemed a little too preoccupied to even notice her name tag foreshadowed his imminent demise. He didn't even order a caffeine product with a nigh unpronounceable name.

"Have you ever just, questioned your life?" He ran a hand through shaggy dark hair and then focused on her, "What you've done for the past 5 years of your life?"

Artemis blinked.  
"About as much as I think about the taser my apron's front pocket." She smiled at him. " It would take me less than 2.5 seconds to shock you through your skull and dump your body in the trash outside".

To his credit, he laughed in a way that wasn't patronizing.

"Sorry. It's just..." he trailed off. After a pause, he looked up at her again, "Good reflexes."

"It's what I do." He smiled and this time, it reached his eyes.

"What's your real name?" He asked.

"Yours first."

"Orion."

She gave him a cup of coffee on the house.

Now) "Sun, Moon, Stars, Rain"

The 1960's were not a good time. First of all, free love was probably the worst thing to happen to feminism while at it's final, glorious, onset and secondly, people were planning to land on the moon. Her moon. The stars were clouding from so much pollution. Artemis was angry.

"Oh, Artemis, darling!" Great. What now?

"Aphrodite."

"Aren't these a wondrous times? The whole place just zings of rebirth - oh, did I tell you?" Artemis began tuning her out. Stopping only when she heard "Orion”.

"What?"

"Oh, dear, your brother found him," Aphrodite lightly touched her arm. She didn't even shrug her off in her shock. "Wanted to be an astronaut, the crazy man." The goddess of love's eyes slightly softened, momentarily bringing her to her former glory.  
___________________________________________________________________

"You're not growing old, you know." She informed him.

"That a fact, my lady?" He looked different now. His skin was a few shades darker, for one. His hair a bit curlier. But his eyes were the exact same shade of brown.

She fell back into their old arguments. It was easy. "I'm not your lady." 

"Never were." Gods, he was beautiful.

There was a lump in her throat. "I'm sorry." 

He blinked, startled. Kissed her brief, hard, still tasting the same.

"Too bad," He murmured into her mouth, "You're beautiful when you're unapologetic."

"I love you." Artemis mumbled back. "But you're crazy."

"Ah, there she is..."


End file.
